786 Pakistanis exit India; 1,465 Indians return home after visa cancellation

New Delhi: As many as 786 Pakistani nationals, including 55 diplomats, their dependents and support staff, besides eight Indians with Pakistani visa, have left India through the Attari-Wagah border crossing in the last six days following a government order in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack, officials said on Wednesday.

A total of 1,465 Indians, including 25 diplomats and officials, besides 151 Pakistani citizens with long-term Indian visas have crossed over to India from Pakistan through the international border crossing located in Punjab since April 24.

The 'Leave India' notice to the Pakistani nationals was issued by the government after 26 people, mostly tourists, were killed by Pakistan-linked terrorists in Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir on April 22.

The deadline for exiting India for those holding SAARC visas was April 26.

For those carrying medical visas, the deadline was April 29.

The deadline for 12 other categories of visas was April 27. These were visas on arrival and visas for business, film, journalist, transit, conference, mountaineering, student, visitor, group tourist, pilgrim and group pilgrims.

Three Defence/Military, Naval and Air Advisors in the Pakistani High Commission in New Delhi were declared Persona Non Grata on April 23 and they were given one week to leave India.

Five support staff of these defence attaches were also asked to leave India. India has also withdrawn its defence attache from the Indian High Commission in Islamabad.

However, those having long-term, diplomatic or official visas were exempted from the 'Leave-India' order.

The officials told PTI that altogether 94 Pakistani nationals, including 10 diplomats, left India through the Attari-Wagah border crossing point on April 29; 145 Pakistanis, including 36 diplomats, their dependents and support staff, left on April 28; a total of 237 Pakistanis, including nine diplomats and officials, left India on April 27; 81 left on April 26; 191 on April 25 and 28 on April 24.

Eight Indian nationals with Pakistani visa have also left India through the international border crossing point on April 29, the sources said.

Similarly, altogether 469 Indians, including 11 diplomats and officials, returned from Pakistan through the same route on April 29; 146 Indians returned on April 28; 116 Indians, including one diplomat, on April 27; 342 Indians, including 13 diplomats and officials, came back on April 26; 287 Indians crossed over from Pakistan on April 25 and 105 Indians returned on April 24, the officials said.

A total of 22 Pakistani nationals with long-term Indian visas came to the country through the Attari-Wagah border on April 29 and 129 more Pakistanis with the same category of the visas entered India on April 28.

Officials said some of the Pakistanis might have left India through airports too, pointing out that since India does not have direct air connectivity with Pakistan, they might have left for a third country.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on April 25 called up the chief ministers of all states and asked them to ensure that no Pakistani stays in India beyond the deadline set for leaving the country.

After Shah's telephonic conversations with the chief ministers, Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan also held a video conference with the chief secretaries and asked them to ensure that all Pakistani nationals whose visas were revoked must leave India by the deadline fixed.

The already strained relations between India and Pakistan nosedived further after the horrific Pahalgam terror attack, with New Delhi announcing a raft of measures, including the cancellation of visas, against Islamabad, which hit back with a string of tit-for-tat measures.